demographic. dogstepping on remote. "morning joe" starts right now. on the republican side, things are trending in one direction, my friends. >> mitt romney is leading the gop field for 2012. >> he's ahead in the poll. he's way ahead in the money. he's got a stronger record. >> wow. mitt romney is the one that's doing the dance. are there any drop-outs? >> it's hard to get excited about mitt romney. >> if the elections were tomorrow, it would be mitt romney, but that's because of the lack of choice. >> wow. republicans nervous about nominating the mormon. they will do it, but with the same hesitation as taking your cousin to the prom. it's better than nothing.

you might still get laid, but you're not going to feel that great about it. >> top of the morning on the east coast. it is friday, july 1. welcome to "morning joe." with us on set, national fair editor john heilman. and the director of the earth institute, dr. jeffry sachs. how are you all doing? >> great. >> the mets are hot. >> on fire. >> i'll be there on sunday. >> country is on the verge of economic break, but you need to take a break. take a break and rest. >> and do what? >> watch baseball. >> a fun weekend in baseball. dr. sachs, how are you?

>> blasted republicans for not making a deal. now, the republicans are striking back. the push for raising taxes on the wealthiest americans. republicans say this is not an option, slamming the president on capitol hill yesterday. >> what i would like to see them do is agree on the outline of a ten-year plan. >> whoa, whoa, whoa. that was the wrong soundbyte. >> that was bill clinton -- >> tj, did my phone call to you this morning shake you up a bit? >> yeah, i was thrown off. i apologize. >> maybe you should have started your fourth of july weekend yesterday. >> i'm going to leave now. >> all right. we have the soundbyte. >> do this. okay, press the button that says i'm the right button. all right, here it is, go.

>> congress isn't going to approve hundreds of billions of dollars in tax hikes. it's simply not going to happen. the president does not seem to get it. >> not to be reckless, not to give demagogue speeches as the president gave as part of his re-election campaign. disgraceful. he should be ashamed. >> he says it's not worth his time to come down to talk to republicans. i remember when he did before, he got a lecture. maybe if he would take a volume and come talk to us, it would be beneficial. >> it continued with rand paul questioning why the president left washington yesterday. >> yesterday, the president went on national tole vision and chastised congress. he said to congress, and i quote, members of congress need to cancel things. you know what? i agree.

i'm here today though there president, where are you? i think he has campaigning in philadelphia tonight. i don't believe he's here tackling the nation's problems today. >> okay. white house press secretary jay carney responded saying the president can do more than one thing at a time. he commented on why republicans oppose tax cuts. >> what the senator invited the president to do is hear them restate their position. we know what that position is. he also invited them to hear, invited the president to hear what would not pass. that's not a conversation worth having. we need to have a conversation about what will pass. >> okay, they are really bickering here. are they going to get to the point? former president, bill clinton is weighing in on the debate,

talking to abc news yesterday, he says he sees another path for compromise. >> what i would like to see them do is agree on the outline of the ten-year plan and agree not to start either the revenue hikes or the spending cuts until we got this recovery under way. >> all right. >> that was nice of him. how is that morning bun? >> it's good. >> so, john -- the president saying being der -- he says they have to stay in town. when my daughters have homework to do, they get it done a day early. stay here and work. see y'all later, i'm going to philly, i have a fund-raiser. bye. >> well, no. >> the imagery of that -- >> i'm not sure that's fair,

joe. >> why not? >> because he's the president. they can all meet and he was saying you should have gotten this done. let's get it done. >> his closest ally says we can't get anything done until the president gives us framework. maybe he was writing the framework down on the back of cocktail napkins at the fund-raiser, but i can't imagine going to a fund-raiser in the middle of a financial crisis. >> the optics are ideal if the president made this criticism. he's opened himself up to criticism. the white house has the framework. they have their own budget. the negotiations joe biden was taking part in, they have a frame work. it's not like they don't have guidance. the broad point to most americans, if you look at the schedule over the house and

senate for the last couple months, one body is in session and the other body is out of session. it's not a sane way. >> especially if we are in an intense deadline. >> i think many members of the house and senate said yeah, this is -- we're not working in the most effective way possible to get this done. i don't think the fact the president is going to a fund-raiser takes away the general point. >> is he going on vacation for fourth of july? >> i don't know how many days. i doubt he's away all week. >> jeffrey, what's distressing is the republicans are pointing at the president. the president is pointing at the republicans. dick durbin is saying we can't do anything until the president tells us what to do. the white house now is going back and forth trading with senate republicans.

what's that mean? we have to get this thing resolved. >> this is a national breakdown that we are experiencing. i just came back from two weeks of travel in asia. i was in china. i was in the middle east. i was in europe. nobody has politics like we have right now. it's really not a matter of whether it's washington or not. nobody that we saw all the way through the clips, nobody is doing the slightist isist arith. >> ha is the president doing? >> the president got off to the wrong start with the wrong set of policies. he went in the wrong direction. opened up huge deficits. last december, as we know, with the looming deficits, he and the republicans agreed on more deficits, so we went in the

wrong direction for a long time. now, this reality is in our face, but nobody is serious because it's all about 2012. it's about positioning. we are in campaign mode every moment. nobody runs the country. that's all it is. >> here we go again. i just sort of -- are you a supporter of president obama? >> i'm a supporter of the president of the united states. i voted for him at the beginning. i have been disappointed in the lack of clarity. >> same for you? >> i didn't vote for the president. >> he's a journalist. >> right. you don't have any opinion. >> i have lots of opinions, i express them on the show all the time. it doesn't mean i'm a supporter of either party. >> we are getting hit a lot lately for not bringing on people who speak on behalf of the white house and really stick up for the president.

we are bringing people on but they are not doing it as much lately is my point. >> yeah. obama supporters, we have been criticized -- >> i'm just trying to figure out here -- >> a couple friends say oh, a lot of your people around the table -- there's a suggestion we need to get a more balance to our table and more democrats, which we checked the numbers and it's like a 10-1 ratio, democrats to republicans as far as guests on this show, yet there are a lot of people that supported the president strongly for two years that just don't support him anymore. >> after you said, what do you think the president is doing right in all of this? >> i think what he said this week, actually, is more correct than anything that the republicans are saying, which is that we need a balanced approach out of this. the problem is, we are drifting and he never put forward a

credible way out. i think he went in the wrong direction at the start. i think the democrats bought into this stimulus idea, which was, in my opinion, the wrong idea. >> right. >> i said so at the beginning. they have woken up to that reality. it's not as if the opposition is more accurate in this. neither side does any arithmatic. >> on the issue of the president, to talk to a point ezra klein made about governors who have been successful. top ones, governors that have been successful over the past six months, i can think of three or four. it wasn't just the governors themselves, but the situation, the legislature they had, it was the exact kind of dynamic they were dealing with in their own state legislatures. couldn't we put a little of this or a lot of this on the republicans and the plans they put forward that have been far

too extreme then digging in and not allowing room for negotiation? >> obama inherited one of the biggest messes in history. but, when he came in, he had both houses of congress, the american people behind him and he missed the opportunity. that's one of our tragedies right now. at the crucial moment when he had the chance to lead clearly, he didn't. now he's boxed in. i have no sympathy for the opposition in this. what they are saying is destructive. i agree with you, mika, it's destructive. neither side has been consequential for what's supposed to be a good sign. >> people get upset, they talk about oh you engage in false e vif len si saying the left is as bad as the right.

in this case, there's not leadership from either side. paul ryan put out a budget that was very unpopular, but at least he put a budget out. outside of that, the president put a budget on the floor that was voted down 98-0. he knew it would be voted out. there's not leadership. >> joe, if i could say, it's stranger than that. he put out a february budget. then ryan came in march with this alternative. then the president gave a speech about another budget in april. then we never saw details about it. that's the drift and lack of seriousness on both sides. >> maybe bill clinton. >> sorry about that. >> to jeff's point about this being a game, this looks to the american public like theater. someone comes out with a plan, the other side attacks it. go take a valume, mr. president.

they want to know when the game ends. is that possible, john, with how far apart the two sides are? the core issues of taxes, entitlement reform. is there a deal to be made to the two sides that don't speak to each other? >> the american people are right if they think it's all theater. it is, you know, the level is very high. i think the answer is, to the extend they are going to get serious, it's only at the last minute when the deadline comes. to me, everything that's gone on from the way the republicans behave and the democrats and the way the president is postured. it's place holders. we are going to see it in the last week of july, then we are going to get serious. to mika's point, i will say this not as a supporter of the president, but as a matter of fact to jeffrey's point, right now, the fact republicans are taking the position the white

house is calling them max mallist position. they have said they want mostly spending cuts to now saying they will not accept a deal with revenue increases. there's no arithmatic that does not have entitlement reform. there's no way to make the math work. right now, if you want to place the burden of responsibility, who is mostly irresponsible? the republicans. it's insane to rule out a category of how fiscal policy works in america. including all tax breaks, all subsidies. all things good conservatives who said corporate welfare was a bad idea, we can't talk about that either. it's absurd. >> what else is absurd is having friends of this show on, democrats we like very much

coming on saying we are going to have to cut subsidies for corporate jets. we are going to have to cut subsidies for oil companies. we have to go after those rich people. we have to raise taxes. we have to put a tax on people who buy shiny cars. we have to put a tax on people who have shiny poker chips that have their names engraved on it in gold. >> the republicans -- >> yeah, republicans are going to kill medicare. >> that's silly, talk, too, right? >> hold on, let me finish my point. it's a long one. willie geist asks the question -- >> i said is medicare off the table? >> he replied, oh, yes, it's off the table. you can't touch it. >> what? >> howard dean said it's off the table, you can't touch that.

that is every bit as reckless and irresponsible as saying you are not going to raise taxes. >> you note at the beginning of what i said, for the long term, you need to deal with entitlements. but, now, the democrats in congress accepted the notion that a package they would sign on to includes three quarters of the proportion of what would be taken out would be from the spending side. so, democrats are at least open to the notion of cutting spending. they are not open to the notion of cutting spending, but open to cutting it more than the revenues they can raise. >> here is a problem, too. if you rule, jeffrey sachs help me out here, you are an economist, while i went to the university of alabama. if you are going to rule out medicare now and say yeah, we are going to make big cuts but

rule out medicare. that means democrats are focusing on 10%, discretionary spending that is our investments, r & d, education, infrastructure. the things we need to double and triple down on. the things we can afford to do in trying to catch up with china if we take care of the long-term structural debt on taxes, on health care and these other issues. >> yeah, we talked about the fact our health care system is at least 50% more expensive procedure by procedure than any other place in the world. we have this grip on a lot of the health care sector. we need health care reform. this is obvious. but it's been obvious for years. they don't do it on either side. >> coming up, connecticut

governor dannel mall low. >> he's going to yell at you. >> i think he's in for a fight, yeah. yeah. >> mika is mad. she's not putting up with it anymore. >> this is incredible. sexual assault allegations against strauss-kahn. why it's on the verge of collapse. >> he was in yonkers at the time. come on. first, here is the weekend forecast with bill karins. >> how good is it? make us happy. >> it's going to be nice. if you want a hot weekend, you want it over the fourth of july. it's what we are going to get. hotter in some spots. chicago, st. louis, 95 to 100 today. that heat spreading from oklahoma city northward. the southeast gets cooled off late in the afternoon. afternoon showers and storms in florida and there in the northern plains. let's take it through the weekend forecast.

most of the big airports are going to be okay. big storms in the ohio valley saturday. sunday, new england has isolated thunderstorms in the afternoon. new york city, philly, boston, wet weather late in the day. for the fourth of july, the front shifts to the south. the macy's fireworks will be okay. charlotte and raleigh you could have storms to dive as you head to your fireworks display. you are watching "morning joe" on this busy travel day. we are brewed by starbucks. discover customersl are getting five percent cashback bonus at the pump...

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all right. 23 past the hour. time to take a look at the morning papers. minneapolis shuts down minnesota's democratic governor and top republican lawmakers failed to make a budget deal. they shut down ahead of the midnight deadline. 20,000 state employee jobs are in limbo with parks, state offices and road projects shutting down. >> the san francisco chronicle, jerry brown signed california's second on-time balanced budget in a decade. one that will curve the services the state offers and relies on a windfall of revenue. >> the new orleans times, a new bridge of eastern china. the world's longest over a body of water. >> they are lying. >> measuring 26 miles. it's two miles longer than the causeway in louisiana. folks there aren't happy about it. they say the claim is bogus.

the bridge includes miles of road not over water, making it 16 miles in length. the estimated cost, over $1 billion. it's to deal with the traffic congestion. >> lake pontchartrain, that bridge will always be the longest. let's call guinness book of world records. >> let's go to politico, shall we? >> it's impressive. i'm not taking anything away from them. just lake pontchartrain is number one. do you hate america? you do. >> no, i recognize a handsome bridge when i see one. that's a handsome bridge. >> why don't we do this segment in mandrin. you love the chinese so much. >> we got back from asia and we were greatly affected. >> go ahead. >> patrick, how you doing?

>> good morning, guys. >> you have a new entry in the republican field. >> it's exciting. >> what? >> this is the one. >> wait, a new one? >> this is it. the code has been broken. fabious is jumping in the race. >> ho is he? >> i feel sarcasm on the set. this is the eighth candidate going to file papers today, a congressman from michigan. address the sarcasm. does he have any chance at all? no. very unlikely. what you night see is what is his role going to be in the race. the more that jump in, it benefits mitt romney. he can lay back. i think it's why he's running. he's from mitt romney's home state of michigan. he supported mitt romney in 2008. recently, he's been critical. very few people have gone after mitt romney.

this congressman is loved by the right wing. there's hope perhaps he'll be the one person who can go in and sniff out romney. >> this is the lead story? >> no. >> okay. just wondering. >> gutsy move. >> let's move on to stephven colbe colbert, shall we? he was up in washington declaring victory. here is what he said to the crowd after getting a superpack. >> people have cynically asked, is this some kind of joke? i for one don't think participating in democracy is a joke. they want to know what the rules are is joke. i do have one federal election joke if you would like to hear it. >> yes! >> knock knock. >> who's there? >> unlimited union and corporate

campaign contributions. [ inaudible ] >> that's the thing. i don't think i should have to tell you. >> patrick, what's colbert doing up there? ha's the point he's trying to make? >> criticizing the americans, they are allowing unlimited corporate contributions. he said fcc ruled he could form his own superpack and talk about it and promote it on his show. his point was to address weather or not his corporate company, viacom would have to view it as an unkind expenditure. fcc said they would not. it's not seen as a watershed moment. there was a lot of fear the fcc would say any corporate company can use their news media outlets and not have to disclose. >> it is obviously very into the

weak stuff. what are you doing this weekend with your cats? >> laying low. staying here in washington, d.c. no road trips. >> he's got three cats. >> have you been to the cat rodeo before? >> i have not been to the cat rodeo. >> you should. tyson's corner has the best cat rodeo. fourth of july, 2:00 p.m. >> right outside. >> i have no way of getting through this without cat commentary. >> right outside pf chang's. take the cats there. >> mika, are you going to support me? >> i cats aren't getting along so i'm going to get rid of them. i'm a foster mother. >> you going to bump him off in. >> get him a good home. >> have a good fourth of july.

see you later. >> you know, i love cats. >> he's a sweet boy. >> he's a good man. that was one of the most boring politicos ever. >> we just lost, seriously, crickets are what our viewers are. the sounds you hear are the clicking of millions of channel changes across america. coming up, an emotional farewell to defense secretary robertgates and the surprise he didn't see coming. don't miss the weekend review. oh, dear. what's it going to be. find out which of these stories made the cut. keep it here on "morning joe." ♪ hello sunshine, sweet as you can be ♪ [ female announcer ] wake up to sweetness with honey nut cheerios cereal. kissed with real honey. and the 100% natural whole grain oats

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34 past the hour. welcome back to "morning joe." brand-new, overnight information. prosecutors in the sexual assault case against dominique strauss-kahn. he lost his job. >> they can open and shut the case x right? >> it could be on the verge of collapse.

questions about the credibility of his accuser. investigators reportedly no longer believe the story about what happened or her past. she discussed benefits of pursuing charges of strauss-kahn within a day of their meeting and lied about a past rape claim. prosecutors met with strauss-kahn and they are discussing whether to release the charges. strauss-kahn's strict bail could be revised. >> it took investigators a couple days, but when she was claiming her witnesses were john lennon and moses. it started to raise suspicion. it took them a week or two to do it quick. >> it's amazing it took this long for prosecutors to find this stuff.

it's not just coming from the defense attorney smearing her. this is the d.a.s office. they have the hearing today. he could be put on house arrest and free to go about the country. he'll have his passport revoked. >> wow. what do you think of that, mika? >> it's disturbing and raises issues about cases like this because obviously you can't accuse someone of something like this and destroy them. it cannot be true. how do you deal with that? have we seen her, heard from her? know her name? totally protected. it's a great controversy. it's a problem. don't know enough at this point. it will be interesting to see what happens today. president obama paid tributte to departing defense secretary robert gates. he surprised him with a medal of

freedom, the highest civilian honor. gates said he was humbled by the award, calling his service to the country a privilege. >> i'm deeply honored and moved by your presentation of this award. it is a big sur prize but we should have known a couple months ago, you are got at the stuff. >> he's a good guy. he's been wanting to go home for a long time. anyhow. that's a quick look at the news. time for sports with willie geist. >> he is a great guy. >> gates? >> gates. >> what a great patriot. he's been serving this country for years. >> run over two terms and several wars. turn to sports now. remember the excitement at the nba finals? >> yeah, it's great. >> it's like it was only a couple weeks ago. i finally tuned in and next

year, i have my team. i'm going to pick them. i think all americans like me, we are going to jump in now. the nba's finally got it together. nba, let's go. >> hooked a lot of people like you. >> there's not going to be a season. >> what? >> as of midnight today, this morning, the nba has locked out its players after failing to reach a new deal before the collective bargaining expired. the entire season is in jeopardy. with the nfl in the midst, for the second time in history, two leagues are shut down by labor problems. it's their first lockout since 1999. reduced that season to 50 games. the two sides are far apart on just about every issue with 22 of the league's 30 teams claiming to be losing money.

the commissioner says something had to be done. >> the goal here has been to make the league profitable and have a league where all 30 teams can compete. >> nba players union president says the players will not give up and asked fans to support them throughout the process. it's the problem the nfl has, who gets a bigger piece of the pie. >> the nfl lock out is coming to an end? >> they are coming to an end. the teams claim they are losing money. the players have to change the way contracts are. >> nhl on strike. when is nhl coming back? >> they are still here. >> are they? >> yeah, skating around, doing the whole thing. >> baseball. there's still baseball. yankees and brewers. cc sabathia set the tone early

striking out prince fielder. up, 2-0. hits his 25th home run of the season. it's his 300th home run. i like when he hits them like that. 13 strouks for cc. yankees win, 5-0. the first major leaguer to win. boston yesterday was in philly trying to avoid a sweep. here is one way to do it. knock out the opposing pitcher. hit in the wrist by a gonzalez line drive. he's expected to make his next start. jason swinging the bat. how about that? two home runs. >> the captain. >> two home runs yesterday. >> put life in those old legs. >> fantastic.

>> red sox win, 5-2. >> fans let us know immediately. of course, i tweet when thing gos well for boston. when they don't, i'm silent. immediately -- >> yeah. >> how many wins that counts for? >> one win. >> it's going to be a great baseball season all around. i love how great the phillies are, the yankees, red sox. >> cc sabathia is a horse. >> he's a stud. >> thank you for saying that in public. >> congressman cummings and eugene robinson. you're watching "morning joe." i will send this to shelley. yeah.

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45 past the hour. what a beautiful morning this friday morning. let's take a look at the must read opinion pages. we start with dr. sachs' piece in the financial times called "greece can be saved." greece has a vast solar and wind power to export to energy hungry northern europe. greece remains one of the glorious tourism destinations. they will stick to a narrow path in the early 21st century. you were recently -- >> this past week, you saw riders in the streets as

parliament was voting on austerity. for us watching this, we should take a lesson. they went far along in debt. they got into the huge mess that we are headed toward right now. but, then the politicians did the right thing and we are going to start to clean up this problem. i'm suggesting a way the rest of europe can help greece get through this without complete disaster. >> you talk politicians doing the right thing to fix the problem. let's talk politicians in washington. "the new york times" has a piece. it's hard to avoid the suspicion that g.o.p. leaders want the economy to perform badly. republicans believe in short that they oo eve got mr. obama's number. he may lif in the white house, but his presidency is over. it's time, long past time, for him to prove them long.

>> that's paul krugman. what are your thoughts about that, john? >> well, there's been a strain of argument on the left for awhile that the behavior of republicans is mocked in this way. they would like to take the economy because it would be bad for president obama. i have always had a problem with that only because i think that if you just in a narrow political sense, republicans in congress have a lot to lose by being blamed for taking the economy. it would hurt his prospects if they take a dive. it would not helps republicans to take a dive, either. to the exp tent the republicans are behaving the way they are, they are doing it for their reasons. they have strong convicts on these topics. they are not playing a long game here. again, the long game, they could take themselves down along with president obama if the economy

does go into a double-dip recession. >> in 1995, we republicans were sure we had the high ground against bill clinton. bill clinton shut down the government, vetoed every bill we sent his way. we thought it was reckless, irresponsible and crazy. but bill clinton had the high ground as, you know, he had the voting pulpit. it was a political nightmare for us. a lot of people lost because of it. the suggestion if the economy tanks the american people are only going to blame the president is a faulty one politically. i have seen republican congresses and legislatures be punished before and i have seen executives on all levels be elevated out of such crises. >> it's all campaigning in washington. it's no governing. it's both sides. just to say it's one side versus the other is wrong. all we have now in this country,

weirdly enough, is moment to moment and election to election solid campaigning. nobody governs anymore. this is the national crisis. it's both parties, both sides. this is the trap we are in right now. we are not getting out of it, it seems. >> i think, if you ask the republican presidential candidates in their heart of hearts what they would like to see happen, they would be perfectly happy to see this whole thing blow up. they would see the economy go into a double-dip recession. >> what are their ideas? i want to see them. i'm sure they are brilliant. >> what you see now is the divide between the president and his own party. there's a large devid between republicans and congress on the campaign trail. this is the way it always is.

the institutional interest diverge in election years. >> the broad majority of americans are in the middle and want something sensible and split the difference and move forward. it's what we are missing in all this, the middle. >> mika, if you want something sensible at this point, if you want something in the middle, if you want something that makes sense when nothing else makes sense. there's one thing to do. go to willie's we could review. get on your knees and know better days are ahead. we have your willie, straight ahead. ♪ [ cat meows ] ♪ [ whistle ] ♪ [ cat meows ] ♪ [ ting! ] [ male announcer ] travelers can help you protect the things you care about and save money with multi-policy discounts. are you getting the coverage you need

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tell me, it is time. >> it is time. >> it's willie time. >> where else could we begin a week in review than with our dearly departed friend, blago. >> no! no! >> i am stunned. >> the vekt. >> tell your senate seat. shaking down a children's hospital is not a gray area, it's a crime. >> it came to a head this week as the former illinois governor was convicted on 17 charges of corruption. >> among the lessons i have learned is to try to speak less. >> his trademark irrational optimism continues up to the morning of the verdict. >> my hands are shaking, my

knees are weak and can't seem to stand on my own two feet. >> he often compares himself to. put behind bars by a society that was not ready for him. >> i thought about mandela, dr. king, gandy. then number two, this is pushing it. the devil's jump is a century's old catholic tradition in spain where helpless babies are laid down in mattresses and a dude in a yellow costume jumps over them. it's to save the baby's soul. it moved to second place on the list of most dangerous baby religious ceremonies. indian baby tossing kept alive is in the top spot. the number one story of the

week. >> are you a flake? >> i think that's insulting. >> the country was in the grips of bach mania. >> we can win in 2012 and we will win. >> michele bachmann's presidential roll out was slowed by a mix up between an american icon and a notorious silly killing clown. >> john mccain is from water lieu, iowa. that's the spirit i have, too. >> you have the eyes of a young charles manson. >> she danced into south carolina where she got fed up about the questions with sarah palin. >> they want to see two girls come together and have a mud wrestling fight. >> the president suggested bachman and her peers settle in washington to get their job done. >> you need to be here.

i've been here. >> one republican insisted he will not join the race to take the president's job. frankly he's too busy hugging mika. >> i'm huggable and lovable. ♪ you're hear, there's nothing i fear ♪ >> you have to take the opportunity. >> oh. he came to my book signing. that was nice of him. i thought it was sweet. >> really nice. >> that was so sweet. he bought a book, too. >> really sweet. >> yeah. >> what do you think 100 years from now historians, critics of this great empire will say about how we put behind bars our gandy. >> it's the day the music died for a lot of us. >> yeah. >> ha's ahead? >> he'll be loved by history. >> he will be vindicated by history.

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congress isn't going to approve hundreds of billions of dollars in tax hikes. i's simply not going to happen. the president does not seem to get it. >> not to be reckless. not to give demagoguic speeches like the president did yesterday. absolutely disgraceful. he should be ashamed.

>> he says it isn't worth his time to come down and talk to republicans. i remember when he talked to republicans before and got a lecture. maybe if he took a volume it might be helpful. >> yesterday, the president went on television and chastised congress. he said to congress, i quote, members of congress need to cancel things. i agree. i'm here today, though, mr. president. where are you? my understanding is the president's campaign has a fund-raiser in philadelphia tonight. i don't believe he's here tackling the nation's problems today. >> welcome back to "morning joe." we have john heilman and dr. jeffrey sachs still with us. the writer for "the washington post" and msnbc contributor,

jonathan capehart. that brought washington together. i feel -- i don't want to be polly ann, but i feel like we are on the cusp of an agreement. when the president said what he said and the republicans responding. >> yeah. take a valume. now bill clinton is chiming in because -- >> i'm expecting a double rainbow over the capital. >> it's bad. come on. >> what's happening? >> the bickering. they are bickering about who is where. why not take the weekend together, jonathan capehart. >> maybe they should and stop with the petty fights of where is the president? why isn't he here? he's been around, as he said. we see these fights all the time. you are joking around, you see

this really intense bickering before an agreement pops up. this time, it feels different. we are looking at an august 2nd deadline for the nation to default. for the credit of the united states to be called into question. >> ha feels different? >> we are going to see the signs of the market reacting to the inaction in washington and when people's interest rates start going up and money market accounts start shriveling, maybe people will burn up the phone lines and protest and demand congress and the white house work together. >> jeffrey sachs, you can see when the democrats said and the republican's response. do you see reason for optimism? >> i see a political system that is breaking down. i think more and more, we are going to need actually a third party in this country to come in, right in the middle and talk basic sense. this, i think, is what's

happened. both parties are trapped by their lobbies. they are trapped by their big money contributors. nobody is budging because they are out campaigning. nobody isgoverning. we are seeing a political breakdown. this isn't really about ideology. this is about the campaign. the sad part is we are always campaigning in this country, not governing. >> if i could -- isn't it part of the problem voters? take for instance, paul ryan puts out a plan that wants to do -- make major changes to medicare. everyone flips out. the poll came out that showed an overwhelming majority of democrats were against it. a majority of them were against it. a convincing majority of republicans were against it. if the american people aren't willing to make the tough choices or accept the tough choices that have to be made and

talked about around the table, how can congress make the real deals? >> it's actually something different. there is a solid majority now for a few things. get out of the wars and cut the military spending sharply. raise taxes on the rich. have a public option on health care to get the costs down. so, there is a solid majority out there. but the politicians don't want to hear it because their campaign contributors don't like their solution. the rich pay the campaign bills. >> the industrial complex runs us into so many wars. we are spending trillions wasted down the drain. the health care industry prevented reform to get the cost down on health care. the public is in the right place but the public has no say in washington. that's the problem. >> somebody said the president should take a valume.

that felt like one. that's depressing. >> it's pathetic. the other thing that's weird for us, we have two year cycles of national elections. no other high income country in the world does that. they have four or five years. they take a break from the elections, from the posturing and govern in between. we don't govern anymore. that's the problem. >> sorry i interrupted. >> no. >> john heilman, how do we break this down? >> man, it's worse than a volume. i feel like i have taken arsenic. >> no, the truth is, people are sensible and in the middle. i don't disagree with the things that have been said. >> we were discussing earlier one of the things that's been true since the start of the

negotiation, when -- the final deals never happen until they have to happen. we saw it of the government shutdown. it is a very ugly and pathetic time right now with people calling their names, et cetera. i thought if there was going to be a deal, the deal would happen within 12 hours of the last moment the deal has to happen. i understand jonathan's point. i'm not saying this is the best way to run a government. there's a lot of posturing going on. the interesting thing that's been shown here is republicans rightly or wrongly think they have the president's number. they think the reason they are pursuing this maximalist way. the president is not a great negotiator. in the end, they can keep moving the goalpost down the field and the president will give more and more. i think there will be a deal at the end of july and early

august. the question is, where the deal is. part of what's going on now with the republicans is they think they have a lot of leverage and they can get a better deal, which in my view is worse for the country and economy. they think they can get a better political deal because the president is weak. >> is the president weak compared to bill clinton who ended up using republicans and these deals? >> chiming in on the process. >> there are two negotiating styles. hopefully we'll see president obama be more like bill clinton in that regard than he has been in the past. i just wonder if there are two types of republicans we are talking about. there are the republicans in the room hammering out the deal and then the 84 or 87 tea party republicans in the house with speaker boehner's job a living hell in terms of getting bills passed and getting things done. >> there are two different

kinds. the extent the white house thought there was a deal to get done, the people the white house has been talking to. they are a smaller group of republicans that have signaled to them in the last few months, there's going to be a lot of posturing but we are willing to meet you half way. the question is whether or not those people actually speak for their caucus and can bring them along to any kind of deep hole. >> they may not. >> speaking of campaigning. mitt romney has harsh words as he took his presidential campaign to pennsylvania yesterday. romney held a news conference outside a closed metal works factory, a location obama used in 2009 to talk about the stimulus plan as proof the president's handling of the issue hurt the country. take a listen. >> as you look around and see the weeds growing and windows

boarded up, it's more a symbol of the failure of the obama policies. the plant has been opened 100 years. it survived the great depression. it couldn't survive obama economy. >> reports show he did not say stimulus funds would include money for the factually that closed its doors in january, 2010. meanwhile, at a fund-raiser in philadelphia, the president said the criticism from romney and others is political, as usual. >> while i'm working candidates are going to do what they are going to do. they are going to attack, here in philadelphia, they are going to attack. they won't have a plan. but they will attack. the american people are less

interested in us attacking each other. they are more interested in us attacking the country's problems. >> all right. that's great. >> that will solve it. wow. >> is it going to be solved like that? >> who knows. who knows. it won't be solved. maybe papered over with something to take us through the election. i think in the end, it will happen. we will not solve these problems right now. at best, we are going to push the problems down the road, once again. >> you know, i want to clarify -- >> none of this is serious toward real solutions, none of it. >> yeah. >> all of it is posturing and campaigning. i think both sides do want to avoid a default of the united states on a technical grounds. both sides want to get to the 2012 election.

maybe they will paper over something. deeper problems in the country, nobody is trying to solve them. >> neither side is talking about how to create jobs. neither side is talking about the income disparity between the richest and poorest americans, which even alan greenspan says is a concern. they are not talking about how we are competing with china. they toss out a line here or there. i haven't seen a plan, including the president, with making us more competitive with china in a meaningful way. >> that's right. nobody put anything forward. for years, it goes back before this president has been incredible improvisation. we don't think ahead. >> okay. >> is that fair? >> yes. >> i'm not sure about that. go ahead. >> the president came into office and he talks about up

vesting in the future, investing in alternative education to compete with china. >> the words are good, but there was never a budget appropriate for it or real planning behind it. the idea we are going to have the shovel ready stimulus and that's going to be competition was a mistake from the first moment. last december when they blew up the deficit one more time in the face of this massive budget hole. it's opposite of thinking ahead. i agree. it's thinking the future. you have to show planning and budg budgeting. >> when we were talking before, i said if we don't do things before the second deadline, people's interest rates go up and their money markets shrivel up. someone on twitter, this guy corrected me and thank you very

much, by saying actually if interest rates go up, it's good for money markets. i don't know. >> so, then we talk about all the campaigning. that romney story just ran, you know, just to clarify, i said it. he used that factory to talk about how obama's stimulus plan hasn't worked. obama used it as a backdrop to tell the stimulus plan but never to give stimulus money. the image romney is using -- >> people are clamoring for stimulus money. there's a lot of campaign slight of hand. it is interesting, in a political sense. i know we have been talking policy here but mitt romney is running like a general election campaign. >> yep. >> every other republican candidate is out in iowa or

south carolina or new hampshire and mitt romney is following wherever barack obama is, he is there. barack obama is in philadelphia, so he's in allentown. it's a strategy that projects an extraordinary amount of confidence on his part that he's going to be the republican nominee. >> you can talk to the romney people. when we talk about sarah palin, they are thrilled. when we talk donald trump, they are thrilled. when we talk about michele bachmann, he's thrilled. he's raising money, going to factories that were open when barack obama was campaigning and closed now. all in all, it's a -- we criticize him all the time here, but it seems to be working. keep your head down, raise money and stay above the republicans. >> as you know, it can be

summari summarized. in 2007, hillary clinton campaigned like this. kind of ignored barack obama for the better part of the year and got surprised when he came out of nowhere. there are dangers to the strategies, too. >> at least around this table, mika thought from the beginning the president could win. i did not. then i saw the first quarter report of 50 million. i said game on. you knew then -- i do not think there's anybody that's going to come close to mitt romney in money. >> michele bachmann. >> more money than you would expect. >> all right. coming up, he's called the anti-chris christie. dannel malloy will be here with the latest on his budget fight.

up next in washington, joined by alie ja cummings. also, eugene robinson. first, bill karinss with a check on the forecast. bill. >> good morning, everyone. we are going to watch a nice travel forecast. first off, the only issues we have is rain in minnesota and the dakotas. thunderstorms in the southeast. as we head through the weekend, not that many issues. the weather spreads to the east. indianapolis, cleveland and pittsburgh. everyone in new england, heavy rain late in the afternoon. finally, a fourth of july forecast. thunderstorms in the southeast. overall, no one's plans will be washed out. hope you had a safe one. you are watching "morning joe" brewed by starbucks.

live shot of capitol hill, 22 past the hour. joining us now from washington, democratic congressman from maryland and the ranking member of the house oversight committee, elijah cummings. msnbc political analyst, eugene robinson. guys, good to have you. eugene, i want to read from your piece from "the washington post" in a moment. elijah, we are getting depressed here. >> don't get depressed. >> we are getting depressed. >> why is that? >> we can't find anything nice to say about either side in washington. it doesn't seem like anybody is maybe completely invested in getting something done.

there are accusations on both sides of that. is that true? >> i think it's unfortunate that we are at what seems to be a stalemate. i think we have to put out political ads, take them off, leave them at the door and get the issue resolved. i just had a town hall meeting with elizabeth warren and i can tell you, my constituents are saying look, we are concerned about this debt ceiling, but you have to get this done. i think this is the time for us to sit in a room and resolve this matter. i'm glad the president is now engaged in this to a greater extend. >> congressman, everyone is saying we should get in a room. no one is on the other side of not being there. that's kind of the bottom line of yesterday's news. each side is accusing the other of not being there. this is silly.

>> i have to tell you, we have to keep in mind that politics is the compromise. when we look at a budget situation and one side is giving and the other side just says no way, that we cannot, you know, on the one hand, the democrats are saying let's reduce spending and everybody agrees we ought to reduce spending and we got far along the way in doing that, then the republicans come back and say we are not going to deal with the other side. that is bringing in some type of revenue. that makes it difficult. >> we have two democrats from washington. senator brown saying the same thing about entitlement programs. >> i hate being in this position. i am convinced that this can be done. i am convinced that everybody in washington, i hope, understands how significant this debt ceiling situation is. so, i'm hoping that the

leadership -- when you talk to them, to members that i talk to when they are not on the house, most people want to get a deal done. hopefully, our leaders will get together and get it done. >> congressman, you are talking to ran kin file members but are they republican members? the question i have for you is do you have confidence -- let's say they do get a deal and bring it to the floor of the house, does speaker boehner have the votes to actually get it passed? >> i talked to both republicans and democrats. there are some republicans in particular the newer ones who are mainly tea party type who, you know, are adamant they will not vote for such a deal. there are other ones around for awhile that say i'm hoping we are able to get a deal and move on. i have confidence. i have confidence in both sides. we gonna be able -- if they can

hammer out a deal, we'll be able to get it through. >> eugene robinson, if you were writing a column right now on this conversation, what would your lead line be? just off the top of your head. you are at the typewriter. >> yeah. >> you are trying to pull it all together and really crystallize this conversation. >> prospects belief for a deal on debt ceiling because both sides are not yet ready. it seems to me for compromise. it's getting late in this. if republicans really will not give a centimeter on the revenue side, i think this is very difficult and potentially, we could go to august 2nd and the president has to decide whether or not to exercise a

constitutional option to avoid a catastrophic default. i'm not seeing this progress that we all hope to see. >> congressman cummings, is there more you want from the president in terms of moving this process forward and getting to a result where both sides give something at the table? >> i want the president to do what he did the other day. some complained he was hard on congress. i think he has to do what he said he would do. the president said i will not tell you what you want to hear, i will tell you what you need to hear. he continues to move it around the country and do what he needs to do to make sure the american people understand how urgent this situation is. i thought he made a good case the other day with regard to the tax cuts for the rich at the expense of medicare and programs of that nature as we know them.

so, yes, i want the president to continue to do what he's doing. i understand some feelings may be hurt. we have to get past that. it's that urgent. he's at a point now, as eugene said, we are reaching a deadline point. if we don't deal with it now, we are going to see results that are not very pleasing to anybody. i think our constituents will make it pay for it dearly. >> congressman, the president yelled at congress for not being in washington or not being here to get a deal done. then he jets off to philadelphia for a fund-raiser and republicans smack him around for not being there. is that a fair criticism? >> i don't think so. what the president -- as he said, he's dealing with issues every day and constantly. i think, again, it's not so much a question of being here, it's what we do when we are here. i think that, again, going back to what eugene said, if we

cannot get the other side to compromise closing the loopholes, it's going to be a problem. i'm hoping that republicans will look at this and say you know what, this makes no sense. we have got to at least meet them one-third of the way, if not one-fourth and try to address this issue. >> eugene, we are going to get to your column next block. congressman, before you go, we looked at the cover of "time" magazine. you have legislation you are going to introduce with representative carolyn maloney, looking at weapons trafficking. tell us about it. >> we had a hearing yesterday where experts came in and basically told us that the guns that are fueling the drug wars in mexico, i'm talking tens of thousands of them coming from the united states and that there are two things they want. these are atf agents who begged

us. they said look, you have to have stronger laws with regard to strong purchasers. they buy guns and sell them to mexican cartels. you have to have a drug trafficking law where this is illegal. right now, it is the guns coming from our nation. 80% of all guns involved in the cartels efforts in new mexico are coming from the united states. our legislation goes to those two issues to try to help the atf agents who asked for this kind of legislation trying to help them better control our situation in mexico. >> congressman eliza cummings, thank you. eugene, stay with us. connecticut governor dannel malloy joins us on "morning joe," coming up.

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welcome back to "morning joe." eugene, we said we were going to get to your piece in the washington piece. assassination by a robot. are we justified? we need to explore these issues.

we need to relearn an ancient lesson that no method of waging wars without risk or without consequences. this is the aggressive use of drones by president barack obama. >> we are using drones in over six countries. there was a drone attack in somalia last week becoming the sixth nation on earth where we have drones patrolling the sky. i think we need to talk about this. this is going to expand. these are machines that essentially are designed to assassinate and i think we need to look that in the face and talk about it and decide what we think about this method of

waging war. on one hand, if we can keep from putting americans in harm's way, it's a good thing. on the other hand, i think we need to talk about the moral and ethical ramifications of what we are doing. >> what are the implications? >> i don't know. i'm tossing it out there. i think, you know, there's questions there about do we -- who are we going after? if it's al qaeda member or officer or leader? absolutely fair game. the guys of somalia were affiliated with a group affiliated with al qaeda. i'm not clear what they have done or were planning to do. how do we draw those lines. >> interesting. dr. sachs. >> eugene this is a great column today. very important.

i hope you get a debate going. it's weird right now. in libya, i don't know if you agree, it seems our real military strategy is to try it's a very odd policy right now. we are trying to drop bombs to find gadhafi under one of those bombs. we are doing a lot of assassinations right now. >> we have just kind of drifted into this aztecnology developed. of course, commanders are going to want to deploy machines instead of people. you can't put machines at risk in the way you put people's lives at risk. this hasn't been aired. people aren't talking about you know, the drift war assassination as a major tool of

war for the united states. it's supposed to be against the law to assassinate foreign leaders. it seems we are trying to do that in libya. >> he made the point of why it's attractive, to not put a lot of lives on the line. the other side, there's a lot less accountability here. american troops engaged. we have a debate of lives put on the line. you can do these things with the drones. i think there's another issue of what happened when they feel they are bombed from the sky by remote control, what it does to their feelings about america and the implications about that. >> great questions. thank you very much. up next, connecticut governor,

dannel malloy next on "morning joe." [ male announcer ] things seem better with travelocity's best price guarantee. our girl's an architect. our boy's a genius. we are awesome parents! biddly-boop. [ male announcer ] if you find a lower rate on a room you've booked, we won't just match it.

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we were with dannel malloy last week. >> what's so funny. >> listen, all i know is dan malloy -- hold on. all i know is dan malloy was lecturing me about look how he can get it done. he negotiates with people. he got these big concessions in return for big tax increases. now, what do the people of connecticut have? big tax increases with no concessions. >> this is awkward. >> joining us now from hartford, connecticut, governor dannel

malloy. were you lecturing chris christie? let's start there. >> i don't think so. he started talking about allowing states to go bankrupt. how did that go for him. people say things that sometimes don't make sense. this is a debate that's more important than who has the bigger belt. it's policy. >> oh! >> it is so hot. >> it is so hot here. >> bring it boys. >> what? >> you do argue over things. >> belts, bigger office. silly. just silly. >> let me ask you governor. get us up to date. what chris christie was talking about was a battle you may be having with the unions. many say you bent over backwards and rejected the package. do you now have to start cutting employees? >> yeah. i told them i would do that.

connecticut has to balance the budget in short term basis, which a lot of people are concentrating on. we have a package we can no longer afford. we have the worst funded pension plan in the united states at 42%. this all began about 17 years ago when one of my republican people entered into a 20-year contract on benefits and post-employment benefits. it was a terrible deal. i don't know any mayor in the country that would have done anything quite as stupid from that. we have been trying to dig out from that for a long time. at least people have talked about digging out from it. i'm the first governor to fully defend it. we entered discussions about the labor side and how to cure it. i reached an agreement with labor leaders. that agreement was passed by 57%

of the members of the unions that were represented in that coalition. because of rules that the unions themselves set up for approval process, 57% doesn't win an election. quite frankly, that can't be tolerated. we have to correct the situation. i'm in a position where i have a balanced budget. i'm required to lay off 6700 people. >> when do you begin that terribly difficult process for you? when do you begin it? >> we already have. we had meetings with employees yesterday. it will continue for the next couple weeks. there's a warning here. either we get our fiscal house in order and we reach agreements that allow us to do it on a short-term and long-term basis or the cuts will be implemented and other changes made, including having to resolve some of these matters in the legislature.

but, i'm hopeful that we'll all get back to the table. that the package that was negotiated will be approved one way or another. that we don't have to tear families apart by laying off one or two of the parents in the family. this is not a situation to lay them off. it's a time to look ourselves in the mirror and wake up. >> governor malloy, you have an unemployment rate in connecticut that is basically what the united states unemployment is, 9%. >> yes. >> putting aside the budget situations, what is your plan to try to fix the unemployment situation in connecticut and what, if anything can the federal government do to help you there? >> the federal government can solve some of their own problems and stop the craziness they are having about the debt ceiling. the united states is collecting 18% of gross domestic product

and spending 24%. they are going to do that for the future. we need an honest discussion about how to solve the long-term problems. clearly, they have to cut back spending. it has to do it in strategic ways. some of those ways, some of those cutbacks could be more hurtful to states than others. a lot of republican governors are out there saying let's go to block medicaid. we don't need a race to the bottom in this country. we have to sustain a reasonable level of benefits for those individuals who rely on them, medicaid and medicare and move forward in other areas. medicaid is important because the federal government, the state's governments pay 50% of the total cost. if you cut that back, we are given the choice of do we close or throw grandma out on the street. it's not a discussion state

governments want to have. on the employment side, i worry about the rapid federal cutbacks that are ongoing. it's estimated between the first of this year and december 31st, federal, state and local governments will dismiss 750,000 employees. that's one-half of our gross domestic product. it's really not a good statistic. it's going to be hurtful and play out over the next year. so, what i'm trying to do is avoid laying people off. we entered into agreements passed by 57% of labor in the state. we have to figure out how to get it implemented. >> dr. jeffrey sachs. >> i hope you get there. it impresses me. the business-like, serious attitude you are taking and you have to take. you can't print money, you can't borrow from china, you have to get the job done.

>> we do. >> ha's the lesson for washington. what would you advise right now? it seems you have had to go, almost like every state, both sides, revenue and spending. >> yeah, i think there is a difference between the conversation we had the last six months in connecticut and what's going on in washington. we have been honest with one another. we can look at charts and understand what they mean and understand the financial implications and understand that not every problem is going to be settled overnight or solved overnight. you can make sustained progress. if they stop trying to negotiate for the perfect solution and just get a good solution to some of these problems, a solution that allows the country to move forward, make progress, then i think we would be okay. this purist attitude that enveloped both democrats and republicans is not helpful to those of us back in the states. >> governor malloy, i'm curious,

there's talk on our side about the tone in washington. i worked in connecticut and know the players in media and on radio and television. what about the tone in connecticut throughout this process. how did it go? >> yeah, i think analysts treated me the editorial pages treated me very well quite frankly. they understood that i have long-term goals. you can be governor for four years or eight years, you should spend that time trying to get your job done. i made it very clear that we have 20 years of accumulated problems in this state. we have the worst funded pension obligations of all 50 states. inherited the biggest per capita deficit of any governors that came into office last january. those deficits reasonably predicted not just for the current year and next year but out into the future because of

the systemic problems that my state has. i'm very serious and focused on solving short term and long-term problems, understanding that we have to make progress each and every year going forward. that's going to require a change in relationship with our employees, which should be reached through agreements. in the absence of agreements, we move in a different direction. >> let me ask you a question we asked scott walker earlier this week and your dear friend chris christie in new jersey, looking back at the beginning of the term, have you made any mistakes, would you do certain things differently? we got really honest from both. scott walker said i should have gone out more and explained my proposals instead of pushing it down people's throats. and chris christie said i shouldn't have been so negative towards the legislature. i was impatient. >> too procedural, wanted to jump to the finish line. >> i shouldn't try to force things too quickly.

you've had a tough obviously first year because there are tough economic times in connecticut and across america. anything you would do differently stylistically or substantively. >> have you evolved? >> sure. the maturation process takes place throughout one's life. you garner new experiences and move forward. i'm 55 years old. i'm learning new things every single day. listen, my elbows may have been sharp from time to time. i know people think that. i also know that i move at a pretty quick pace. i exhausted the press in doing 17 town hall meetings in a period of about four or five weeks. but i was out there trying to have people understand that it's not just today's problem. that these are systemic and long-term problems that need to be solved. people don't really want to change, even sometimes when they say they do. i've got to bring about change. >> governor malloy, great seeing

you at the library the other day. >> i enjoyed our private conversation. >> it was. i'm going to have you back another time to talk about your educational experience. you told me a fascinating story. right now we're a little busy but -- >> people would find it remarkable. >> fascinating. >> great, look forward to it. >> good luck. [ male announcer ] this...is the network -- a network of possibilities. in here, the planned combination of at&t and t-mobile would deliver our next generation mobile broadband experience to 55 million more americans, many in small towns and rural communities, giving them a new choice. we'll deliver better service, with thousands of new cell sites... for greater access to all the things you want, whenever you want them. it's the at&t network... and what's possible in here is almost impossible to say.

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good morning, it's 8:00 on the east coast as you take a live look at new york city. welcome to "morning joe" on this friday before the fourth of july john heilemann and dr. jeffrey sacks. >> it's been one week since failing to strike a deal on

the president gave yesterday as part of the re-election campaign, absolutely disgra disgraceful. he should be ashamed. >> now he says it isn't worth his time to come down and talk to republicans. i remember when he talked with republicans before and all he got was a lecture. so maybe if he would take a valium and come down and talk to us, it might be helpful. >> did he tell the president to take a valium? >> he did. >> the rhetoric continued with kentucky senator rand paul questioning why the president left washington yesterday. >> yesterday the president went on national television and chastised congress. he said to congress and i quote, members of congress need to cancel things. i agree, i'm here today mr. president. where are you? my understanding is the president is came paining, has a

fundraiser in philadelphia tonight. i don't believe he's tackling the nation's problems today. >> okay. white house press secretary jay carney responded saying the president can do more than one thing at a time. he also commented on mcconnell's invitation for the president to come to the senate to hear why republicans oppose tax cuts. >> what the senator invited the president to do was to hear senate republicans restate their max mallist position. we know what that position is. he invited the president to hear what would not pass. that's not a conversation worth having. what we need to have is a conversation about what will pass. >> they are really bickering here. are they going to get to the point at some point? bill clinton is weighing in on the debate in washington, talking to abc news yesterday. he said he sees another path for compromise. >> what i'd like to see them do

is agree on outlines of the 10-year plan and agree not to start either the revenue hikes or the spending cuts until we've got this recovery under way. >> all right. >> nice of him. >> yeah. >> how is that morning bun? >> it's good. >> john, the president saying, being sort of derisive in his press conference, they need to stay in town. we need work. we need to get this done. my daughters have homework to do, they get it done a day early. let's stay here in work. see you later, i have a fundraiser in philly, bye. the imagery of that -- >> i'm not sure that's fair, joe. >> why not? >> because he's the president. and he can -- they can all meet and he was saying you should

have gotten this done, let's get it done. >> his closest ally in the u.s. senate dir vin says we can't get anything done until the president gives us a framework. maybe he was writing it down on back of cocktail napkins at the philadelphia fundraiser but i can't imagine going to a fundraiser in the middle of a financial crisis. >> there's no question that the optics of this are not idea because the president did make this criticism and now he has opened himself up to criticism back. the white house has a framework and first they've had their own budget and negotiations that joe biden was taking part in, the white house had a framework they were working off of. it's not like they haven't been providing guidance and negotiations. the president's broad point to most americans, if you looked at the schedules of house and senate over the course of the last couple of months and summer where one body is in session and out of session, doesn't look like a sane way to do business. >> especially if you're claiming

we're in an intense time. >> as a broad criticism, i think there are many members of the house and senate over the last couple of days who have said, yeah, this is -- we're not working in the most effective way possible to try to get this done. i don't think the fact the president is going to a fundraiser takes a way the point -- >> is he going on vacation? >> i doubt he's away all of next week. >> we'll find out. >> he was also a member of senate himself. jeffrey, what's so distressing is the republicans are pointing at the president, the president is pointing at the republicans, saying we can't do anything until the president tells us what to do. and the white house and now is going back and forth traying barbs with senate republicans. what's happening? we've got to get this thing resolved. >> this is a national breakdown that we're experiencing.

i've just come back from two weeks of travel in asia, i was in china, the middle east, i was in europe. nobody has politics like we have right now. it's really not a matter of whether it is in washington or not. nobody is serious that we saw all the way through every one of those clips. no one is doing the slyestighte arithmetic. it's extremely weird, actually. >> what is the president doing? >> the president got off the wrong start of the beginning of the administration with the wrong set of policies and opened up huge deficits. then last december as we know with these looming deficits, he and the republicans agreed on more -- wrong direction for a long time. now this reality is in our face.

but nobody is serious because this is all about 2012. it's all about positioning. we're in campaign mode every moment. nobody runs the country. >> here we go again. i just sort of -- are you a supporter of president obama? >> i'm a supporter of the president of the united states. he's our president. i voted for him at the beginning. i've been disappointed in the lack of clarity. >> pretty much same goes for you heilemann. >> i didn't vote for the president. >> he's a journalist. >> you don't have any opinion. >> i have lots of opinions and i express them all the time but doesn't mean a supporter of either party or voted for the president or john mccain sfwl we're getting hit for not bringing on people who speak on behalf of the white house and really stick up for the president. but we are bringing people on but they are not doing it as much lately i guess is my point. do you agree? >> obama supporters, we have

been criticized by our friends who say oh, a lot of your people around the table, there's a suggestion even that we need to get a more balance to our table and more democrats, which we check the numbers and oh, my god -- it's a 10-1 ratio, democrats to republicans as far as guests on the show and yet there are a lot of people that supported the president strongly for two years that just don't support him anymore. >> i'm wondering what you think the president is doing right in all of this? >> i think what he said this week actually is more correct than anything that the republicans are saying, which is that we need a balanced approach out of this. the problem is that we're drifting and he never put forward a credible way out. i think he went in the wrong direction at the start. i think the democrats bought

into this stimulus idea which was in my opinion the wrong idea. i said so at the beginning. they've woken up to that reality but not as if the opposition is more accurate in this. >> exactly. >> neither side does any arithmetic that's serious. >> on the issue of the president though, for example, to touch on a point about the governor who's have been successful, no matter what decisions they made, unpopular ones, governors who have been successful over the past six months, i can think of three, maybe four, ezra pointed out it wasn't just the governors themself but it was the situation. it was the legislature they had, the exact kind of dynamic they were dealing with in their own state legislatures. couldn't we put a little bit or a lot of this on the republicans and their behavior in the plans they've put forward that have been far too extreme and then them digging in and not allowing any room for negotiation? >> i think the truth is obama

inherited one of biggest messes -- >> exactly. >> but when he came in he had both houses of congress and he had the american people behind him and missed the opportunity. that's one of our tragedies right now. at the crucial moment when he had the chance to lead clearly, he didn't. now he's boxed in. i have absolutely no sympathy for the opposition in this. what they are saying is really destructive, i agree with you mika, it's destructive. but neither side has been consequential for what's to be the greatest country and world's greatest economy. >> neither side has been constructive and people get upset -- another thing about people getting upset, you engage in false equivalency saying the the right is as bad as the left. in this case there hasn't been leadership from either side other than paul ryan put out a budget. it was unpopular but at least he

put out a discussion on medicare. outside of that the president put a budget on the floor voted down 98-0. and he knew it would get voted down. there's not been leadership here. >> it's even a little bit stranger than that because he put out a february budget then ryan came in march with this alternative. then the president gave a speech yet another budget in april then we never saw details about it. that's the kind of drift and lack of seriousness on both sides that is amazing for this country -- >> i was going to say, to jeff's point about this being a game. this all looks to the american pu public like theater. how snarking can you be, go take a valium, mr. president? people who are struggling to make payments want to know when the game ends.

is that possible john heilemann on the core issues of taxes and entitlement reform? >> i don't know the answer to that question. i can tell you, the american people are right if they think it is all theater. and this is -- the level of ka bookie going on here is very high. the answer is to the extent anyone gets serious, they only will get serious at the absolute last minute when the deadline comes. to me the way everything that has gone on is all kind of -- it's place holders and we'll see it in the last week of july before the deadline comes up in august then we'll get serious. to mika's point and i will say this not as a supporter of the president but as i think as a matter of fact to jeffrey's point about arithmetic. the fact the republicans are taking the position the white house is calling the max mallist position, they've gone from saying they wanted mostly spending cuts to now saying they

will not accept any deal that has any revenue increases whatsoever. there is no arithmetic over the long haul that brings the country to fiscal sanity that does not have both entitlement reform and increased revenues on the table. there is no way to make that math work. right now if you want to place the burden of responsibility, who's being most irresponsible? the republicans are being most irresponsible. it's insane to rule out an entire category of the way fiscal policy works in america, including -- half of it, including all tax breaks, all subsidies and things that good conservatives who have always said that corporate welfare was a bad idea, all of a sudden we can't talk about that either. >> what else is absurd, having friends of this show on, democrats, who we like very much, coming on saying we're going to have to cut subsidies for corporate jets. we're going to have to cut

subsidies for oil companies. we're going to have to go after those rich people, we're going to have to raise taxes. we're going to have to put a tax on people who buy shiny cars. we'll have to put a tax on people who have shiny poker chips that have their names engraved on it in gold. and then -- >> and that the republicans like -- >> and republicans are going to kill medicare. >> that's silly talk too. >> and wilhileh willie geist as question -- >> is medicare off the table? >> and to which he replied, oh, yes, it's off the table. you can't touch it. and howard dean in effect -- another good friends of ours, it's off the table. you can't touch that. that is every bit as reckless and irresponsible as saying you're not going to raise taxes.

>> ahead on "morning joe" china unveils the world's longist bridge over a body of water. why some louisiana officials are saying it is mere propaganda. >> the chinese are lying here. >> also, long before the snookie and situation, the jersey shore was known to host vacationing sitting president. we'll take you inside the summer white house. let's go to bill karins with a check on the forecast. bill? >> good morning, everyone, this is it. the weekend forecast. and actually it looks pretty nice, only a few minor trouble spots early today in case you're going to work still or off on vacation. thunderstorms rolling off of lake michigan. that will continue for the next couple of hours before it weakens. that's one little wet spot there. also storms in the gulf and northern plains. many of the major airport hubs will be fine. as we go through saturday, hot weather spreads into the east. d.c. could be in the low to m -

mid-90s. storms will be likely in philadelphia but that won't ruin your plans. they will be in and out in a hurry. the fourth of july forecast, new york city looks fine for the macy's fireworks. slight concern for atlanta and raleigh. hopefully the storms will be over with by the time it gets dark and the fireworks fly. we're brewed by starbucks. [ female announcer ] sun damage is on the rise. now use the best suncare

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afrads she's going to turn around and run to the beach again. >> you're psych co- >> we're getting our bathing suits. come on, nicole, really? >> i just want to have fun. >> snookie is on the beach rolling around. >> get the [ bleep ] off my arm. >> you're talking to a police officer like that. >> get off. >> oh, my goodness. >> that your fourth of july? >> that's some face down, not necessarily on the beach but somewhere. >> where do you go on the fourth of july? >> where do i go? >> shelter island, new york, best memories are lying on a blanket looking up at fireworks at night as a kid. someone in my family, i won't name names, he shares my name and older than me, will go to the state of new hampshire on a day trip and just come back with

the trunkful of things you could be sent to guantanamo for. >> i didn't say bill geist zb taking fireworks across the border. >> jonathan capehorn your best fourth of july memory? >> probably out at the beach on water island. which is on fire island. >> fantastic, do you go there a lot. >> not in a while though. >> pat buchanan has a beach house. >> nice little pink cottage. >> mika was your favorite? >> lititz, pennsylvania, that's where we go. big family reunion, friends, grilling, sun and farmland. >> it's not beachy, no. >> where do you go? >> it's farmee, fabulous, beautiful. >> he's asking where i go? >> most exciting year for me the

nantucket relief fund. >> help the kids out. >> i'm going to see the kids and big smiles, they get the torn -- >> frayed khakis. >> willie? >> it's faded and we go up there and we bring hope to the hopeless. some of those jeeps they drive around, the land cruisers look like they were built in 1972. we help them out. sometimes we just give them cash, you know. >> i might need to be transparent about your prescription drug use. go ahead. >> we came in ai scene on the jersey shore which has been unfairly snon mouse with the beach towns of new jersey. it has a rich history -- >> that's not what new jersey is all about? >> it's not. >> joining us now, the man

behind much of the historical preservation projects, co-manager partner of the real estate advising firm cape advisers, curt. >> good to be here. >> seaside heights has its moments where it looks like the jersey shore but there's a lot more to it. >> probably the oldest resort destination in the country, cape may being the oldest seaside town in the country. and we've restored a bunch of hotels down there and are sort of dishing out this very american classic, summer getaway experience. we've been battling the snookie syndrome a little bit lately. and of course -- >> is that a real problem? >> let's put it this way, more recently as people come down, they say, i can't believe this is in new jersey. and that's probably because of the images con jurped up snok

snookie who i think was born in new york. >> this -- as we get into this fourth of july weekend, there has been a long history of great americans going to visit the jersey shore, some presidents frankly pierce, james buchanan, u list ease grant, went to cape may, why? >> it was sort of the gathering place in the mid 1850s because by boat it was the town you could get to by philadelphia. it was the summer white house when they were installing electricity in the white house in d.c. and cape may. is this very traditional, great

hotels and architect you're. >> you're not just in cape may, you've got properties all over and in reading up for this segment, one of the hotels you own is the chelsea in atlantic city, which i've stayed at once, full disclosure and it's fantastic. it's like going back to 1970s in a chic way and nongaming hotel if i remember correctly. >> i knew there was a reason i hadn't stayed there. >> that opened in 2008 and it was a renovation of two existing old structures, howard johnson's and holiday inn fallen into disrepair and we put them back together and went back to that sense of atlantic city from the rat pack era. >> how is the jersey shore doing from a business point of view. are you expecting a big summer? >> summer looks great, interestingly enough in '08 and '09 we stayed pretty flat

because it's a close to home getaway. people like something that's easy and not so extravagant and the jersey shore came. we did pretty well during the down turn. ac has taken a bit of a hit on the gaming side but it looks like a great summer this year. >> curtis, folks are talking about in trenton and washington, saying small business is the back bone of the economy and we've got to help create jobs and things. and you're a large employer in new jersey and south jersey around the shore. are you getting any phone calls during these distressed times from anyone in trenton, anyone from washington seeking your advice in council on how to create jobs? >> not really. it's a great question. we employ up to 1200 people a year. we've added 150 jobs since 09. and you know, you really feel like you're on the front lines of the economy. you know, if there's jitters or

people are nervous, it impacts us in real time. in '08 we had to make harsh decisions and cut back and deal with economic realities out there. when washington gets in an impasse guys like me are saying do we hire six bartenders or not. what are we going to do this fall? i see images of greaece and everyone saying we need jobs, but those of us on the front lines creating jobs are kind of unnerved about what we hear and gives us pause when we think about, are the customers going to be here this fall or are the jitters coming back. >> the images from greece, london, the impasse in washington over the debt ceiling, what's happening in new jersey and states, you're watching all of those things, it's not that you're a small business owner focused on your particular properties. you're looking at everything how's it's going to impact your business? >> absolutely. you feel it.

ten years ago we had a territorial shock that territorial security with 9/11. four years ago we had the economic downturn and people were insecure financially. and those of us running small businesses are feeling the changing nervousness in the consumer preferences and we've got to respond to it. >> optimistic or pessimistic? >> i'm pretty optimistic. you hope that people get together and make decisions like we have to do in real time. >> curtis, thank you so much. we appreciate you're coming in. new evidence that china is rocketing ahead of the u.s. with high speed rail. that story and business before the bell next on "morning joe."

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yesterday china opened the world's longest bridge over a body of water. the bridge is about 350 miles southeast of beijing and over 26 miles long. 2.5 miles longer than the

causeway over lake pontchartr n pontchartrain, the estimated pricetag is $1.5 billion and part of the government's effort to deal with serious traffic congestion. some down in louisiana now say china's claim of building the longest causeway is bogus and of course we here agree because china's bridge includes miles of road that aren't actually over water. making it more like 16 miles in length. >> not really a bridge then. >> it's not. >> it's not a bridge over water. >> yesterday also china unveiled a new high speed rail system taking passengers from beijing to shanghai about 800 miles in five hours. that's less time than it takes to fly from new york to l.a. while china is racing on with the high speed rails, america is still stuck on the track. we have two reports beginning with abc's adrian.

>> reporter: leaner than a jet plane, the harmony express, connecting the capital of beijing to shanghai in under five hours. the link is 824 miles long, about the distance between new york and atlanta -- nearly area year ahead of schedule. how did they do it? >> it is a one-party regime. there's no political opposition. there's no rule of law. there's no transparency. so there aren't as many environmental hearings and things like that. and then they've got the money. >> reporter: they also had a little help. >> our technology is imported from france and germany said this engineer but we developed our own train.

with that technology, china has 12 high speed rail links under construction, hoping to build 12,000 miles of high speed rail by 2020. critics say it's costing too much to build and passengers to ride. >> looks like a knowledgeable fete but economic loss. >> the railways ministry chief was fired for embezzling $30 million, sparking concerns railway authorities might have cut corners at the expense of safety but also in a rush to catch up. there's still a huge gap between china and other developed countries says this railway official. we want to be like americans. we want a strong country and good life. a life the chinese are rushing to embrace, nbc news, on the high speed rail in china. >> this is tom costello, if they can build in asia, why can't we build it here?

in california high speed rail is on the way. construction begins next year and what will be a northern california to los angeles line promising 150,000 jobs. this is about as american as you can get. good green jobs, putting americans to work. >> reporter: at the moment, america only has high speed rail in the northeast from d.c. to new york and boston where century old tracks and winding routes keep the acela from ever hitting peek speeds. amtrak rents space on freight lines. to go faster than 120 miles per hour would require a new electrified network of high speed rail lines. >> the obama administration is moving ahead, the ultimate goal, connect 11 mega city regions with a network of high speed track helping to relieve congested roads and airports. $53 billion over the next six years, 500 billion in federal and state and private money over the next 25.

already republican governors in florida, ohio and wisconsin have rejected federal high speed rail money, afraid they'll be on the hook for cost overruns. >> the truth is this project would be far too costly to taxpayers and i believe the risk far outweighs the benefit. >> reporter: in sacramento, they are ready to shift from building light rail trains to high speed systems. >> it would mean hundreds and thousands of jobs. it would mean billions of new economic developments. >> reporter: this is the same debate i'm sure they had 50 years ago when eisenhower signed interstate bill. >> reporter: an argument whether they can afford to build a high speed network or afford not to. tom costello, nbc news, washington. >> that was interesting. >> it really is. the united states need to get into this game, they need to get into it quickly for a lot of reasons. >> it's amazing, if you go to

shanghai, you see the pace of development, like playing off this notion of the bridge. it is -- because as the guys -- one of the sources there said, there's no regulations whatsoever and there's a lot of money. they just -- you can literally if you spend two weeks there, watch them tearing stuff down and building new stuff up. the pace of development is kind of mind boggling to see how fast an old city has been converted into one of the most modern cities in the world. >> it's like we've got our feet in cement. we need to develop high speed rail networks across america for a lot of different reasons. it is to follow up what i did in the 1950s, we're in the 21st century. we need to move forward now. >> tom costello said, $500 billion number, that's over 25 years, that's $20 billion a year, that pales in comparison to what we spend in wars. nice to get out of the war game. >> why don't we stop throwing bombs in one country and

actually start building up the own country. rebuild america now. >> time to get a check on business before the bell. cn cnbc's brian sullivan live at the stock exchange. there's rumors he's going. not brian, timothy geithner. >> what's up? >> timmy? >> there were reports out yesterday that the treasury secretary was going to use what he called maybe or somebody called the window of opportunity after the debt ceiling negotiations were done if they are indeed ever done, to make a graceful exit. we're pulling back on that story at the clinton global initiative. the former president asked, what are your plans bill clinton becoming the interviewer, i'm here for the foreseeable future although we can debate what that means. >> interesting. >> what are we looking at today on wall street? what do we expect wall street to be looking at as far as whether the market goes up or down? >> you want the market answer or

real answer? >> we don't usually like the real answer but in this case, brian, it's fourth of july weekend, give us the real answer? >> you guys are going to talk about it in a moment, but dominique strauss kahn is dominating everything. as far as the market goes, you have the always exciting ism manufacturing number at 10:00 eastern time. you talked about rebuilding america. this is part of that number. if the number comes in good, it means maybe manufacturing is finally starting to end its slow slog. >> thank you very much. have a great weekend. >> have a great fourth of july weekend. >> it's coming up, a major turn in the sexual assault allegations against former imf chief dominique strauss-kahn, why the case is on the verge of collapse.

45 past the hour. welcome back to "morning joe." prosecutors in the sexual assault case of imf chief -- >> what's going on here? what's up? they are letting this perp walk? >> creates an international incident. >> they say it's undeniable evidence. unambiguo unambiguous. >> all of these big names. >> destroy his reputation. maybe he deserves it. that's what the charges are about, you look into it -- >> you look into it before you destroy his reputation and perp walk, he was replaced already. >> and he was going to be in line to run against sarkozy, no

more. >> interesting. >> what he did must have been bad. >> apparently the case against him. >> that must have been a tough case. >> the case against him could be on the verge of collapse of questions about the credibility of his accuser grow. investigators reportingly no longer believe the accusers story about what happened or her past. she discussed possible benefits of pursuing benefits within a day of her meeting and lied about a past rape claim. >> oh. >> prosecutors met with strauss-kahn and his lawyers yesterday and both sides are discussing whether to dismiss the felony charges. a meeting with a manhattan judge will take place today during which strict bail conditions could be revised. >> he can now play for the duke lacrosse, can't go back to france. >> what -- >> willie, help us through this.

you always are the guy that people, defendants who wrongly are accused go to. you famously gave raymond donovan that line after he got off his charges and you said, tell him to say, where do i go now to get my reputation back. what will you see to dominique strauss-kahn. >> what do we do now, willie? >> it's late bit sad investigators took this long to figure it out. >> especially since they did a perp walk and did this whole -- they got a lot out of that publicity. >> it's important to point out, these accusations against the accuser, it's not the defense attorney sliming her this is coming from the prosecutor, from the d a's office saying we have major problems with her story now. up next -- >> where does he go to get his reputation back? >> willie's weekend review coming right up. in here, the planned combination

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it's time for the top three stories. >> at number three, the verdict. >> it's not a gray area, it's a crime. >> the prosecution of rob blagojevich came to a head as i former illinois governor was convicted on 17 charges of corruption. >> among the many lessons i've

learned from the whole experience is to try to speak a little less. >> his trademark, irrational optimism continued up to the morning of the verdict. >> my knees are weak, can't seem to stand on my own two feet. >> blagojevich joins the live of other revolutionaries to whom he often compares himself. put behind bars by society that was not ready for him. >> then i thought mandela and dr. king and gandhi. >> whatever this is, we try not to judge of the customs of other religions but this is pushing it. the devil's jump is a centuries old tradition in spain where sweet helpless babies are laid down on mattresses and a dude in a yellow devil's costume leaps over them. it is believed to save the baby's soul or something. the devil's jump moved this week into second place on the list of world's most dangerous

babely-related religious ceremony. indian baby tossing kept alive its top spot. the number one story of the week. >> are you a flake? >> that would be insulting. >> chris wallace notwithstanding. the country was in the grips this week of fox mania. >> we can win in 2012 and we will win. >> michele bachmann's presidential rollout was slowed only in a buy graph cal mix-up between and icon and clown. >> like john wayne from waterloo, iowa, that's the kind of spirit i have too. >> not only the spirit of john wayne but the eyes of a young charles man son. >> from iowa, bachmann danced into south carolina where she finally got fed up with the questions about sarah palin. >> they want to see two girls come together and have a mud

wrestling fight. >> the president meanwhile suggested politely that bachmann and her peers spend the summer in washington to get a budget deal done. >> i've been here. >> one prominent republican insists again this week that he will not join the race to take the president's job. >> frankly he's too busy hugging mika. >> him huggable and loveable. ♪ >> mika, the governor really lingered on the last hug, didn't he? getting a little extra queez. >> what if anything did we learn today up next.

all right, kids, time to talk about what we learned today. look at that beautiful, beautiful advertisement for cisco, of course the statue of liberty. >> great american company. >> i learned the chinese are using cgi to make us feel bad about our own bridges. that is not a real bridge. they want you to believe the

world's longest. >> that's a long bridge lake pontchartrain. >> frankly, i don't know what i've learned today. >> john heilemann. >> i'm going out of place and doing the baby jumping thing. >> northern spain. i'm going to dress up in the yellow robe and go across. >> i learned two things, governor malloy confirmed another premise of my book, men are more concerned about the size of their offices or whatever, ridiculous. and hold on. i'm not done. hold on, amy's last day. >> thank you, amy. she makes my coffee every morning. you've done a great job. >> i don't know what i'm going to do without you. >> who's amy? is that amy? >> come back. >> amy how about next week? >> yeah.